We selected in this post some Carnival Text Interpretation Activities, ready to print and apply to early graders. Wonderful activities to work reading and text comprehension with elementary school students.
See more at:
Index
No, not from this last carnival. But I don't know why this one transported me back to my childhood and to Ash Wednesdays in the dead streets where the remains of streamer and confetti flowed. The occasional saint with a veil covering her head went to church, crossing the street so extremely empty after the carnival. Until the next year came. And when the party was approaching, how to explain the inner turmoil that took me? As if the world had finally opened with a bud that was a great scarlet rose. As if the streets and squares of Recife finally explained what they were made for. As if human voices were finally singing the capacity for pleasure that was secret in me. Carnival was mine, mine.
However, in reality, I took little part in it. I had never been to a children's ball, I had never been dressed up. On the other hand, they let me stay until around 11 pm at the foot of the stairs in the house where we lived, eagerly watching the others have fun. Two precious things I gained then and greedily saved them to last the three days: a perfume launcher and a bag of confetti. Ah, it's getting hard to write. Because I feel how dark my heart will be when I realize that, even though I added so little to the joy, I was so thirsty that almost nothing made me a happy girl.
And the masks? I was afraid but it was a vital and necessary fear because it met my deepest suspicion that the human face was also a kind of mask. At the door at my foot of stairs, if a masked man spoke to me, I suddenly entered into indispensable contact with my inner world, which wasn't just made up of goblins and princes, but of people like theirs. mystery. Even my scare with the masked, then, was essential for me.
They didn't fantasize about me: in the midst of worries about my sick mother, no one at home had a head for a child's carnival. But I asked one of my sisters to curl my straight hair that caused me so much disgust and then I had the vanity of having frizzy hair for at least three days a year. In those three days, still, my sister gave in to my intense dream of being a girl — I couldn't wait on the way out of a vulnerable childhood — and I painted my mouth with strong lipstick, rougeing my faces. So I felt pretty and feminine, I escaped childhood.
But there was a carnival different from the others. So miraculous that I could not believe that so much was given to me, I, who had already learned to ask for little. It's just that the mother of a friend of mine had decided to fantasize her daughter and the name of the costume was in Rosa's costume. For this he had bought sheets and sheets of pink crepe paper, with which I suppose he intended to imitate the petals of a flower. Agape, I watched little by little as the fantasy took shape and created itself. Though I didn't remember anything from petals to crepe paper, I seriously thought it was one of the most beautiful fantasies I'd ever seen.
That's when, by simple chance, the unexpected happened: there was a lot of crepe paper left over. And my friend's mother—perhaps in response to my mute plea, my mute despair of envy, or perhaps out of sheer goodness, since there was some paper left over — he decided to make me a rose costume too with what was left of the material. In that carnival, for the first time in my life I would have what I had always wanted: I would be someone other than myself.
Even the preparations made me dizzy with happiness. I had never felt so busy: minutely, my friend and I calculated everything, under the costume we would use a combination, because if it rained and the costume melted at least we would somehow be dressed — at the thought of a rain that would suddenly leave us, in our eight-year-old female modesty, in a slip on the street, we previously died of shame — but ah! God would help us! it wouldn't rain! As for the fact that my fantasy only exists because of the leftovers of another, I swallowed with some pain my pride that had always been fierce, and humbly accepted what fate gave me as alms. But why exactly did that carnival, the only one in fantasy, have to be so melancholy? Early in the morning on Sunday I had my hair curled so that even in the afternoon the frizz would look good.
But the minutes did not pass, so anxious. At last, at last! three o'clock in the afternoon arrived: careful not to tear the paper, I dressed in pink.
Many things that have happened to me so much worse than these, I have already forgiven. However, this one I can't even understand now: the dice game of an irrational fate? It's merciless. When I was dressed in all-armed crepe paper, still with my hair curled and still no lipstick and rouge —my mother his health suddenly deteriorated a lot, a sudden uproar arose in the house and they ordered me to quickly buy a medicine in the drugstore. I went running dressed in pink — but the face, still naked, didn't have the girl's mask that would cover my so exposed child life — I ran, running, perplexed, astonished, among streamers, confetti and screams of Carnival. The joy of others amazed me.
When hours later the atmosphere at home calmed, my sister combed and painted me.
But something had died in me. And, as in the stories I had read about fairies that enchanted and disenchanted people, I had been disenchanted; it was no longer a rose, it was a simple girl again. I went down to the street and standing there I wasn't a flower, I was a thoughtful clown with red lips. In my hunger to feel ecstasy, I sometimes began to feel joyful but with remorse I remembered my mother's grave condition and I died again.
Only hours later did salvation come. And if I quickly clung to her, it's because she so needed to save me. A boy of about twelve years old, which for me meant a boy, this very beautiful boy stopped in front of me and, in a mixture of affection, thick, playful and sensual, she covered my already straight hair with confetti: for a moment we were facing each other, smiling, without speak. And then I, an eight-year-old woman, considered for the rest of the night that someone had finally recognized me: I was, yes, a rose.
LISPECTOR, Clarice. Clandestine happiness. Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, 1998, p. 25-28
1. The last carnival brings to the author's memory the carnivals of her childhood. In the first part of the text, she tells us about those carnivals in general. In the second part, “a carnival different from others”. What made the difference?
2. The statement “I had been disenchanted” (tenth paragraph) sums up the author's feeling regarding the way everything ended up happening in that different carnival. How can we interpret the statement?
3. In the last paragraph, the author tells us: “It was only hours later that salvation came”. Why did the boy's gesture end up being so important to the girl?
4. In the ninth paragraph, the author tells us that worse things happened to her and she forgave, but that what happened in that different carnival “I can't even understand now”. Because?
5. In the second paragraph, the author says: "Oh, it's becoming difficult to write." What is the reason for the author's outburst at this point in the text?
1. Carnival was different because, for the first time, she could dress up and participate in the party (6th paragraph)
—"At that carnival, because, for the first time in my life, I would have what I had always wanted: I would be someone other than myself".
2. The incident broke the spell of winning the costume.
3. She considered herself grateful for the boy's gesture when there was nothing left of the party that had almost taken place.
4. She still doesn't understand that, in life, everything results from a game of dice of an irrational destiny.
5. The memories that so little was enough to make her happy as a child make her heart dark ('crushed') and she finds it difficult to put these feelings down on paper.
Be sure to check: school carnival decoration
Informative reading:
Carnival is a festival that originated in Greece in the mid 600s to 520s BC. Ç.. Through this festival, the Greeks performed their cults in thanks to the gods for the fertility of the soil and for the production. Later, the Greeks and Romans introduced drinking and sexual practices in the festival, making it intolerable in the eyes of the Church. Over time, carnival became a celebration adopted by the Catholic Church, which actually occurred in 590 d. Ç. Until then, carnival was a party condemned by the Church for its performances in singing and dancing, which in Christian eyes were sinful acts.
From the adoption of the carnival by the Church, the festival began to be celebrated through official services, which banned “sinful acts”. This change was highly astonishing in the eyes of the people, as it fled from the real origins of the festival, such as the celebration of joy and conquests.
In 1545, during the Council of Trent, carnival became a popular festival again. In approximately 1723, carnival arrived in Brazil under European influence. It took place through parades of costumed and masked people. It was only in the 19th century that carnival blocks emerged with decorated cars and people dressed in a similar way to today.
The party was widely adopted by the Brazilian population, which made the carnival one of the biggest celebrations in the country. The famous carnival marchinhas were added, so the party grew in number of participants and in quality.
the tortoise carnival
The animals decided to have a carnival ball. Each animal should go dressed as another animal, but the tortoise decided to go dressed as himself, which made the fox furious. The monkey told the tortoise that he had been banned from going to the dance because he was too rowdy. What did the tortoise do?
The tortoise laughed saying:
__I have an idea. You go and say you are a tortoise dressed as a monkey. And make all the mess for you and me. I arrive at the end.
The monkey somersaulted for joy and went to the ball.
When he arrived, the fox stopped him. Damn girl was dressed as a peacock like a queen.
__Where are you going? You are prohibited from entering here.
And the monkey:
__Pois I'm the tortoise, can't you see?
__Ah! – said the victorious fox – with which he then got back on track! Come in, come in.
When the ball was at its height, the monkey went crazy. He came out screaming, tearing off artificial manes, cotton tails, straw ears, banana peel skin. A scandal. The king fled in despair in his huge elephant guise.
After the monkey had finished the party, the tortoise arrived. The fox, crying, pointed at him:
__Jabuti, it was you.
And the tortoise laughed and said:
__Carnival Ball without a monkey is not a ball, godmother fox. Now let's dance, each one with the tail they have, the ears they have, the claws they have. No mask, mistress fox. it looks good on your idle and intriguing muzzle.
The lion looked very seriously at the fox, who cringed and snarled.
And the king decreed:
__The ball continues, led by the tortoise, which is as slow as it is wise.
Valmir Ayala. The monkey and the tortoise. São Paulo: Modern, 1968.
1 – This text was written on what theme?
2 – Who are the characters?
3 – This narrative is of the genre:
( ) fairy tale. ( ) anecdote. ( ) fable. ( ) news.
4 – Transcribe the unknown words from the text and look up the meanings in the dictionary.
5 – Order the speech of the tortoise:
( ) – You go and say it's the tortoise dressed as a monkey.
( ) – I arrive at the end.
( ) - I have an idea.
( ) – And make all the mess, for you and me.
6 – List and form sentences according to the text:
a) The monkey was ( ) which was the tortoise.
b) The fox stopped ( ) at the ball.
c) The monkey said ( ) the monkey.
d) The fox said ( ) that he had fallen in line.
7 – What did the monkey take from the costumed animals?
8 – What did you think of the monkey's attitude? Justify your answer.
9 – How did each animal that lost its fantasy react? And if I were you, what would you do?
10 – What the tortoise said to the fox about:
=> the carnival ball: _________________________
=> the masks: ______________________________
11 – Reread the end of the text and answer:
a) How did the fox leave?
b) What did the lion king decree?
12 – Write, justifying, if you agree or not with the way you acted:
the tortoise: _______________________________
the monkey: ______________________________
13 – What message can be extracted from this fable?
Also see: Carnival masks to print and color
The history of carnival in Brazil began in the colonial period. One of the first carnival events was the entrudo, a festival of Portuguese origin that, in the colony, was practiced by slaves. They went out into the streets with their faces painted, throwing flour and smelling water balls at people. Such balls were not always fragrant. Shrovetide was still considered a violent and offensive practice due to the attacks on people with the materials, but it was quite popular. This may explain the fact that wealthier families do not celebrate with slaves, staying in their homes. However, in this space there were games, and young girls from reputable families stood at the windows throwing water at passersby.
Activities:
The people were sad. He was all crestfallen, tired-faced, disheartened. The king was worried. He wanted his people happy, he needed it, so it would be easier to manipulate him. I could raise taxes, create some new ones, travel freely, steal, make absurd laws and other things like that; he needed to make people happy despite all the absurdities he makes them suffer.
As it seemed an almost impossible mission, the king hired the best specialists in several areas from all over the world: psychologists, musicians, artists, party entertainers, humorists, jesters, philosophers, among others.
The king ordered them to be together as long as necessary to carry out the work. So these professionals were arguing for hours and hours, days and days, weeks... After several months of uninterrupted meetings inside the castle, they were tired and haggard like the people of the Kingdom. So they decided that they should rest and have a little fun. They asked the king for free food and drinks, saying that this party would be indispensable to the continuation of the work. The king answered. They ate and drank until they got so drunk that they began to sing and jump and cling. They decided to play a game: everyone would change clothes with each other. They felt so happy that they danced and sang as much as they could. Outside the room, the king understood nothing, listening to all that singing.
The next day they were exhausted, sprawled on the floor, with rumpled faces and the biggest hangover of their lives. But they were happy as never before. It was then that a snap occurred to them: the answer was there! The king should organize a party, with lots of drinking, lots of music and lots of dancing, where everyone would change clothes with everyone. The king loved the idea.
Thus instituted the carnival
And so the king achieved his goal...
1 – This narrative explains the origin of which popular festival?
2 – Who are the characters in this story?
3 – Where does the story take place?
4 – At what time does this story happen
5 – What is the climax of the story, that is, what is the suspense part?
6 – What is the outcome of the story, that is, how does the story end?
7- Check which is the textual genre of this story:
( ) News ( ) Fable ( ) Legend ( ) Report
Write how you came to the conclusion:
8 – Read between the lines of this text and write down your understanding.
Also check: Letters of Carnival marchinhas to print
What did you think of the Carnival Text Interpretation Activities? If you liked, don't forget to share it with your friends.
Subscribe to our email list and receive interesting information and updates in your email inbox
Thanks for signing up.
